Horizontal Reversing Chuck for Compact In-Liquid Substrate Turning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional in-liquid posture turning apparatuses face challenges in downsizing and reducing the load on the rotating mechanism, leading to inefficiencies in substrate processing, particularly in maintaining uniform processing across the substrate surface due to the vertical rotation of the in-tank carrier and the complexity of the rotating mechanism.
Innovation Solution
An in-liquid posture turning apparatus with a reversing chuck and a lifting drive mechanism that moves the chuck up and down between transfer and turning positions within an immersion tank, allowing for horizontal axis rotation of the substrates, reducing the size of the immersion tank and the load on the rotating mechanism, and incorporating a transmission mechanism with a timing belt and bevel gears to minimize particle contamination and transmission loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the entire in-tank carrier is rotated vertically to turn substrates from vertical to horizontal posture, then the substrate posture is successfully changed, but the size of the immersion tank increases significantly in the vertical direction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the rotation operation into two independent stages: first rotating only the reversing chuck (which holds the substrates) to change substrate posture, and separately controlling the in-tank carrier's vertical movement. This segmentation allows the immersion tank to maintain a compact vertical size while still achieving the required posture turning function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the rotation axis from vertical to horizontal. By rotating the reversing chuck about a horizontal axis rather than vertically rotating the entire in-tank carrier, the system achieves posture turning without increasing the vertical dimension of the immersion tank.
2Ease of operation
If the entire in-tank carrier is rotated vertically to turn substrates, then the substrate posture is changed, but the load on the rotating mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the rotation function from the carrier and assigns it to a dedicated reversing chuck. Only the lightweight chuck and substrates are rotated, not the entire heavy carrier structure, significantly reducing the load on the rotating mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the rotation function from the in-tank carrier by introducing a separate reversing chuck mechanism. This allows the carrier to focus on vertical movement and substrate transfer, while the lightweight chuck handles the rotation task with minimal load.
3Productivity
If substrates are processed in vertical posture by batch type module, then collective processing efficiency is improved, but pattern collapse occurs due to gas-liquid interface influence during drying
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically changes the substrate posture from vertical to horizontal during the processing sequence. Substrates are held vertically for collective batch processing to maintain productivity, then rotated to horizontal posture before drying to eliminate pattern collapse caused by gas-liquid interface effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic posture changes: substrates are processed in vertical posture during wet processing steps, then periodically rotated to horizontal posture during drying steps to prevent pattern collapse, alternating between the two postures according to processing requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
An in-liquid posture turning apparatus for turning a posture of a plurality of substrates, the apparatus including: an immersion tank; a reversing chuck; an opening/closing drive mechanism; a rotating drive mechanism; and a lifting drive mechanism that moves the reversing chuck up and down between a transfer position above the immersion tank and a turning position in the immersion tank, in which in a state where the reversing chuck is moved up to the transfer position, the reversing chuck, which has been set to an open position, is made to receive a plurality of substrates, and after the inversion chuck is set to a holding position, in a state where the inversion chuck is moved down to the turning position, the reversing chuck is driven around a horizontal axis.